Williamson had been shot at least twice and was pronounced dead at the Hospital of Saint Raphael. It was the second time in less than three months that he was shot in the Newhallville neighborhood. He survived the first time.

Advertisement

"The worst part about it is not knowing," said Fortes, "not realizing when you hear something like that, that it's your family laying out in the street."

Police have made no arrests in the city's 9th killing of 2012. No witnesses came forward.

Some residents reported hearing shots but nothing more.

Williamson was shot at least twice early Monday. On April 9, he was shot in the abdomen in front of 126 Shelton Ave. Police said he provided little information about the incident to investigators so any potential link between the April incident and his slaying was nothing more than conjecture, investigators said.

At 2:25 a.m., a 911 call and an alert from ShotSpotter, the city's gunshot locator system, reported gunfire on Bassett Street near Butler Street, a half a block from Lincoln-Bassett School.

He was pronounced dead about 30 minutes later.

Williamson had two felony convictions for drug offenses but no convictions in the last seven years. Police received information that he may have had substance abuse issues.

Standing outside the crime scene Monday, Fortes remembered him as a man who liked to tell jokes and always played with the kids at family gatherings.

In 2012, one third of the city's killings have happened in the Newhallville neighborhood and a fourth happened at the border of the Dixwell neighborhood. And after two homicides in the first four months of the year, there have been seven in May and June.

Fortes expressed frustration at not being able to walk from your house to a bus stop without concern and the fear that the community had to speak out.

"I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid to talk about my family. I'm not afraid about saying I care about my family. I care about my neighborhood and the people who live in my neighborhood," he said.

"You ask for things to change and things to stop but it just keeps going and going and going."

Detectives asked anyone with information about the killing to contact police at 203-946-6304 or on the tip line at 203-946-6296. Calls can be made anonymously.